Extensive Study of Shape and Surface Structure Formation in the Mercury Beating Heart System

A phenomenological study of the mercury beating heart system in a three electrode electrochemical cell configuration forced with a harmonic perturbation is presented. The system is controlled via a potentiostat, where the mercury drop is electrically connected to a platinum wire and acts as the working electrode. This configuration exhibits geometrical shapes and complex surface structures when a harmonic signal is superimposed to the working electrode potential. This study involves a wide range of frequencies and amplitudes of the forcing signal. Differents levels of structure complexity are observed as a function of the parameters of the applied perturbation. At certain amplitudes and frequencies, rotational behavior is also observed.